Nobel laureate and former United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, says investment is necessary for India's economic growth and for it to become a global education superpower.

BANGALORE,KARNATAKA,INDIA(FEBRUARY 08, 2014) (ANI) - Nobel laureate and formerUnited NationsSecretary General,Kofi Annan, said that investment is necessary forIndia's economic growth and for it to become a global education superpower.

Annan was speaking at a ceremony of Infosys Science Awards in India's southern Bangalore city on Saturday (February 08) and felicitated seven winners for excellence in their field.

"India's goal of becoming a global education superpower and its continued strong economic growth cannot be achieved without significant investment and effort. So the government is to be congratulated for its ambitious plans to expand up to 30 percent the number of young people going to the university," said Annan.

During his address, Annan stressed on a number of issues ranging from India's brain drain to providing them opportunities in the country.

"Scientific innovation can strengthen industry and transform society by facilitating the transition to a high-value, knowledge-based economy. This transition is well underway in India, for decades a leader in the field of information technology," added Annan.

Infosys' founder and chairman N.R. Narayana Murthy and other officials were also present during the event.

Mpelembe Adminadmin@mpelembe.netinvestment-is-key-to-indias-goal-of-becoming-global-education-superpower-says-kofi-annan3https://sites.google.com/feeds/content/mpelembe.net/education/7934215130562080602013-12-22T14:23:52.555Z2013-12-22T14:24:34.712Z2013-12-22T14:24:34.712ZTwo Million Yemeni Students Sit On Floor As Schools Face Chair Shortage

Two million Yemeni students are left with no seats in overcrowded classrooms and are forced to receive their education on the floor as state schools face a shortage of chairs and benches.

SANAA,YEMEN(REUTERS) - TheYemeni governmenthas been stepping up efforts to raise awareness about child labour, in a country where thousands abandon their education to help support their families.

Since the start of an initiative in June the number of children in schools has increased by 10 percent, according to the Ministry of Social Affairs.

But as more children are encouraged to enrol in education, they find themselves squeezed into overcrowded classrooms with limited seating capacity.

Hail Said, a school in the capital Sanaa, is one of the state schools that is struggling to provide a good educational environment in its classrooms.

Its desks, which are designed to accommodate two students, are now squeezing in up to four children.

But for many at the school, even the squeeze is a luxury. When the chairs run out, tens of other students are forced to sit on the floor.

Yemeni education minister Abdulrazaq al-Ashwal says this is now the case for large numbers of students across the country.

"One of the challenges we face is that there are two million students without class seats, they don't have a seat to sit on to exercise their right to education. The constitution states that every student has the right to education, and the law has stressed the right to education. Despite this, the student goes to school and finds no seat in the class, so he sits on the floor," he said.

He blamed the previous government for failing to introduce policies to tackle the problem.

"The reason for this problem is the policies. The former government could have applied some policies in order to tackle this problem, such as not building new schools without providing enough class seats and calling on the municipalities to supply schools with seats as part of their budget investments," al-Ashwal said.

"If more seats were made available to us, we could provide those who sit on the floor with seats, but even if we have enough seats, the classroom will remain packed with students," said the school manager, Muhammad al-Habashi.

The school's deputy manager Muhammad al-Hamzi said the huge numbers of children in each classroom put a strain on the little equipment the school did have.

"Because the desks accommodate more than their capacity - where sometimes four students sit at one desk- the desks last for a week before they break. We take them back to fix them but they break again. The ministry supplies us with 150-200 desks once a year, sometimes once in two or three years. This makes the educational process more difficult during the academic year," he said.

Yemen is the second poorest Arab state after Mauritania, with a third of the 25 million people living under a poverty line of $2 a day and unemployment is estimated at around 35 percent - with youth unemployment at 60 percent.

The country badly needs to invest in education, infrastructure and health and the government is now considering cutting fuel subsidies to make more funds available.

Yemeni students will be hoping any money saved will be ploughed into their schools to give them a chance to study in classrooms that can accommodate them all - and provide each of them with their own chair.

Mpelembe Adminadmin@mpelembe.nettwo-million-yemeni-students-sit-on-floor-as-schools-face-chair-shortage3https://sites.google.com/feeds/content/mpelembe.net/education/64071690466012722672013-12-16T16:20:57.026Z2013-12-16T16:21:35.044Z2013-12-16T16:21:35.044ZBuildings Evacuated At Harvard After Report Of Explosives

"Out of an abundance of caution, the buildings have been evacuated while the report is investigated," Harvard said on its web site.

Harvard and Cambridge Police officials did not immediately return calls seeking further details.

Harvard's campus is located in a crowded urban area adjoining Boston. Students this week were scheduled to take final exams.

The school, founded in 1636, has about 21,000 students.

It was the latest in a series of security scares at U.S. schools and universities. Three days ago aColorado high school student intent on confronting a teacher opened fire at his school, severely wounding a classmate before killing himself.

Late last month Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, placed its campus on lockdown for most of a day, after an anonymous caller warned officials that his roommate was headed to the school planning to shoot people. No gunman was found.

The three men won the 2013 Nobel medicine prize for their work on how hormones are transported within and outside cells, giving insight into diseases such as diabetes and Alzheimer's.

Rothman, who works at Yale University, said the early morning phone call back in October when he was told he had won the coveted prize, was a pleasant surprise.

"A very pleasant wake-up call. I think without a doubt the most pleasant wake-up call that I've ever had. It was... I was surprised," he said.

During the news conference Rothman added some salient advice for the students in the audience - be ready to fail.

"Make sure that every day is spent, as I tell the people in my lab and I'm sure my colleagues do, that it's a day you will never have again so please use is as best as you possibly can, knowing that most certainly you won't have a good result because what we scientists do mostly is fail. You see, the key and I'm not joking, you have to have a high tolerance for failure," he said.

One of the most tangible signs of their success was according to Schekman his own free parking space at the University of California where he works.

"The one tangible recognition that I get from my institution is that they give me a specially designated parking space. Free parking for life which is one big financial incentive that I have for this award." he joked.

Schekman also had some serious advice for young aspiring scientists.

"Well, I always encourage my students to be original, to be daring, to not be risk averse which too many people do, but once you've chosen something you are convinced will be important, it's crucial to focus and not to be diverted by other things that may be appealing at the moment," he said.

Many previous winners of the prize have found getting back to research after winning the prize difficult, but Suedhof, who works at Stanford University, said he was looking forward to it.

"It is a privilege to be a scientist. At least I consider it an enormous privilege. I love the work I do and I've actually tried to keep at least a little bit going even in the last two months which was rather difficult so I'm sure I'll go back and I think it will be a pleasure to go back," he said.

The Nobel Committee that awards the prize said the work of the three scientists had great implications for neurological conditions as well as conditions affecting key organs.

Their work centered on the 'vesicle' system by which cells take up nutrients, move substances around and release chemicals like hormones and growth factors.

Their work is basic science and Suedhof said not enough money was spent on basic science since there was such a pressure to come up with practical applications.

"Because of the pressure to gain benefits for society as quickly as possible, we waste a lot of money on experiments and clinical trials before there is an understanding of the underlying biology," he said.

They will receive the award at a royal ceremony on Tuesday (December 10).

The affair sparked demonstrations by high school students nation-wide with some turning violent.

But after a two-week holiday break, the students mobilisation seemed to have wind down with only between 300 and 400 students demonstrating in Paris' street, according to a Reuters journalist on the ground.

"I found it unacceptable the way Leonarda was deported. I agree with this demonstration because it's important to change the laws. I am very disappointed however by the small turnout despite the (high schools) blockages although I'm not for it really, but it's disappointing because it is even more important to be here today," high school student Anna Ouhayoun said.

Dibrani's expulsion after her family failed to obtain political asylum has tested French President Francois Hollande's ability to handle the issue of illegal migration, a source of increasing public frustration in France.

Mpelembe Adminadmin@mpelembe.netfrench-students-demonstrate-over-deported-schoolgirl3https://sites.google.com/feeds/content/mpelembe.net/education/92013553680887164932013-10-11T22:21:39.508Z2013-10-11T22:22:25.609Z2013-10-11T22:22:25.609ZMalala Vows To Continue To Fight For The Rights Of Children To Be Educated

NVO -Malala Yousafzai, the teen who last year was shot in the head for defying theTaliban's views on women's right to education visited theWorld Bankon Friday, where she shared her dreams of a world where all children have access to education.

Malala, who was was one of the favorites to win the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, has since become a symbol of defiance against the influence of the Pakistani Taliban.

"Today we are just dreaming of a better world, of a better future. I am just dreaming now to see every girl going back to school, to see every boy not to be working at the workshops, not to be selling ice cream on the way, but going to school. I can see a better future, I dream and I believe that today's dreams become tomorrow's reality," Malala told an audience of largely teenage girls.

Malala has not returned to the Pakistani village where she was attacked, but says she misses it. She says mostly listened to Western music back home in her village, particularly that by Justin Bieber, but now is listening to more Pashto and Urdu music to remind her of home.

Nigeria's Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has been on a nationwide strike for over 40 days, crippling learning in all state and federal owned universities in the country. ASUU declared an indefinite strike on July 2 over issues including non-payment of allowances. The crisis has exposed the decadence in the country's public education sector which has been attributed to the government's inability to rectify the issues that have plagued it for over two decades.

LAGOS, NIGERIA (REUTERS) - Psychology student Azubuike Chima is keeping up with his reading while a six-week strike by university lecturers across Nigeria cripples learning in government owned higher institutions across the country.

But the 23-year-old is worried that time lost as the strike persists will be impossible to recover.

"It has actually affected me in the sense that you are now living in a circle, when you wake up, instead of preparing for lectures, instead of preparing for the days academic work, you are only thinking of how to do your house chores, you know, so, it's been bad, I'd like to put it that way, you know, it's been very bad," Chima said.

Nigerian university lecturers have been in a long running dispute with the government over allowances, arrears and funding for the revamping of varsity education in Africa's second biggest economy.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) accuses Nigeria's government of failing to implement a 2009 Memorandum of Understanding signed by both parties.

Universities have been shut since July 2, leaving millions of students out of lecture rooms at a time when they were just two weeks away from sitting their second semester examinations.

The government says it has no "resources" to meet the lecturers' demands.

"They wanted autonomy, they were given autonomy, they wanted increase in salary, that was given and some other allowances. This one is called earned allowances that is what they are fighting for and you see you have to earn it, you have to earn something to get it," said Yakasai.

"If you are a lecturer are you not supposed to... What is your job? You are supposed to lecture and examine the students but they get paid for examining the students," he added.

ASUU says it is also fighting for the revamp of Nigeria's education sector and an increase in the annual budget allocation to schooling.

Decades of corruption and inadequate funding have left Nigeria's education sector in crisis. In 20 years, ASUU has gone on strike eight times.

"Revitalization of the universities system in terms of infrastructure, laboratories, library and addressing the issue of brain drain both external and internal; external in the sense that we don't want our members to be going outside the country for lectureship and academic jobs, internal in the sense that we want the very best to be retained in the system," said Karo Obinaka, ASUU chairman for the University of Lagos.

Hundreds of students recently took to the streets of Nigeria's commercial capital,Lagos to protest the government's refusal to meet ASUU's demands, causing traffic to come to a stand still for several hours.

The protests were organised by the Joint Action Front, in support of ASUU's decision.

Achike Chude deputy chairman for the Joint Action Front said their is a greater need to reclaim Nigeria's once regionally sort after learning institutions.

"If we can show government that education is not just about the lecturers and the students but every other Nigerian. If we can drum that into the ears of government, then government will take education much more seriously and accord it its proper place in Nigeria and once they accord education its proper place, the issue of incessant strikes by ASUU, by lecturers and so on will be a thing of the past, so that's what we intend to achieve," he said.

"When this thing started, we believed that ASUU has started again but when we had a closer look to their demands, we know that this thing has to do with proper funding of education and the demand that can make our education system to attain the globally competitive educational system so our faith is that we believe that without pain there is no gain, all we need is to mount pressure on the federal government of Nigeria to properly fund education because that is the only thing they owe Nigerians and that is when the other sectors in the country can have those that are capable to manage them," the Adeyemo Socrates, a a student leader.

President, Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday (August 18) approved the release of 400 billion naira for the infrastructural development of Nigerian universities in transforming them to international standards.

A meeting is currently being held and hopes are high that ASUU if satisfied with the recent development will put an end to the strike.

A British design student has invented a hi-tech squat toilet for the western market, which he believes will provide health benefits for users and lead to the demise of the traditional seated lavatory.

LONDON, ENGLAND, UK / (REUTERS) - Peter Codling calls it the Penseur ...a high tech squat toilet he invented in design school. It's where he does some of his best thinking.

A recent graduate of London's Royal College of Art, Codling says the human body was meant to squat when taking care of business..so he decided to re-invent the toilet.

ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART INNOVATION DESIGN ENGINEERING GRADUATE, PETER CODLING,

"You have a muscle that's connected to your pelvis that in a sitting position cinches closed your colon and stops you from going completely and quickly, as you should do. In the squatting position this muscle is relaxed and you can go and your colon is straightened, which enables you to go quickly and much more completely."

Squat toilets are uncommon in the Western world, which is why Codling added extra comforts to his hi-tech throne, like a touchscreen that allows a user to choose the perfect water pressure for the bidet and massage functions.

ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART INNOVATION DESIGN ENGINEERING GRADUATE, PETER CODLING,

"These pads support the body, for the back and the bottom of the lower thigh, which enables the buttocks to be free, so to put someone in a new position like that and to have it comfortable was a tricky thing to do. So I've had to iterate many times to finally get the position that worked comfortably and I had my 83-year-old grandmother in this yesterday, so I'm quite certain that it works for a larger age range than a current sitting toilet."

Leading bowel expert, Professor Charles Knowles of Queen Mary UniversityLondon, says there's been little research on the benefits of squatting. But he sees potential interest from chronic constipation sufferers.

"I don't think it's going to be a game changer in preventing all known bowel illnesses because of course a great many of them, including colorectal cancer, have a strong genetic component. It doesn't matter what you do with the shape of your toilet, you're not going to alter that risk. I think its greatest perceived benefit will be around the efficiency of defecation, particularly in people who have a problem with that."

Visitors to the recent design show at Codling's college tried out the toilet for size.

DARREN, SCHOOL PUPIL,

"I would use it, because it's definitely more relaxing and easier to use."

MUBASAHIR, SCHOOL PUPIL,

"I think the shape of it may seem now a bit weird to people but that's what it is with everything, so I think it could be the replacement for the previous toilet."

Codling hopes it will only take one sitting for someone to change their lifetime toilet habits..he hopes the Penseur will be on the market within two years and make him flush with success.

(BOKO HARAM HANDOUT) - The purported leader of the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram praised attacks on schools offering Western-style education in a video uploaded to the Internet on Saturday (July 14).

The video appeared after Boko Haram militants killed 46 students in four school attacks in Nigeria in less than a month, including at Mamudo and Damaturu government schools.

Abubakar Shekau denied ordering the latest killings, saying Boko Haram does not itself kill small children, but he praised attacks on schools.

"We support the attack on the schools in Mamudo and Damaturu and all the attacks in the school of western education; we had promised that we will burn down schools because they are not of God and the prophets; they (the schools) are established to fight against the religion of Islam. But we don't harm children, little boys and girls, our religion does not permit us to kill little children, we don't kill women and old people except for women who disguise and work for secret security agency," Shekau says in the video, dressed in desert fatigues and cradling an assault rifle.

In the last of the four attacks, at Mamudo school near Potiskum in Nigeria's northeast, 22 students and a teacher were killed there on July 6.

Boko Haram, a nickname which translates roughly as "Western education is sinful", formed around a decade ago as a clerical movement opposed to Western influence, which the sect's founder, Mohammed Yusuf, said was poisoning young minds against Islam.

The rebels are fighting to revive a medieval Islamic caliphate in northern Nigeria.

Yet security forces and politicians were the main targets of the armed revolt it started after Yusuf's killing in a 2009 military crackdown that left 800 people dead.

Before June, there had been only a handful of attacks on the Western-style schools it so despises.

An offensive against the insurgents since President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in three remote northern states in May, wresting control of the far northeast from Boko Haram and pushing its fighters into hiding, has changed that.

Shekau, in his video message, denied that the group had been pushed into negotiations.

"On the suggestion that that we negotiated ceasefire with the government of Nigeria-- it is a lie. How can we negotiate with a government that is corrupt? A government that is using the book of pagans to run the government? This is a blatant lie."

Schools are a devastating target for an impoverished region suffering a high rate of illiteracy

Recently, Boko Haram has splintered into several factions, including some with ties to al Qaeda's Saharan wing, which analysts say operate more or less independently, despite Shekau's loose claim to authority over them.

Mpelembe Adminadmin@mpelembe.netnigeria-islamists-hit-schools-to-destroy-western-ideas3https://sites.google.com/feeds/content/mpelembe.net/education/11950253999864295342013-07-11T14:23:40.811Z2013-07-11T14:24:20.012Z2013-07-11T14:24:20.012ZAround The World In A Tuk Tuk For Education

R Reports - It's the journey of a lifetime for two British teachers and their Tuk Tuk.

Rich Sears and Nick Gough are travelling across the world to raise awareness and promote the importance of education.

With 57 million children worldwide still out of school in 2011, it is an issue close to their hearts.

"You often have three or four people sharing a pencil, so you have to right down the answer to the question and pass on the pencil and wait for it to come back round to finish the next question of the test."

There have been a few challenges to overcome along the way...

But the two childhood friends feel it is important to follow your passion.

MSUcares.com - Behavior of the white-tailed deer is certainly one of the more interesting areas of study to sportsmen, not only in Mississippi, but also throughout all areas in the range of this subspecies. Deer enthusiasts simply want to know what a deer of either sex is doing, why it is doing it and where it is doing it. Encounters with deer vary from happenstance roadside viewing and backyard visits to the purposeful pursuit of deer for sport hunting with the desire to harvest the animal. As the deer enthusiast's knowledge of deer behavior increases, their chance of being in an area at the proper time to encounter a deer increases. Outings by sportsmen then become more productive and more satisfying when deer activity is observed and to some degree is understood.

Communication

Deer are social creatures and, much like man, have a definite social structure. With this social structure comes a complex set of rules with which every deer in the herd must comply. These rules within the deer herd demand a method of communication whereby deer can react and respond to each other, establish herd hierarchy, or pecking order, and mutually warn each other of potential danger.

A socially intact deer herd, which is complete with doe/fawn family groups and buck groups, can intermingle with relative calm because dominance is established. Deer understand the difference between dominance and leadership. For example, a mature doe may be in a subordinate role to a specific buck, but clearly be the leader of the deer herd. The deer, like most of the animal world, reacts, cooperates, and communicates with other members to increase chances for survival.

Methods of communication include vocal, visual, and olfactory (smell) cues. These cues are utilized individually, or in some cases in combination, to reinforce a particular response.

Visual

When deer detect a potential threat all of their senses are directed toward that area of concern. The deer assumes what is called a stereotypic alert posture. This posture includes the cocking forward of both ears and erection of the hair, particularly along the back. The deer is then immediately prepared to either fight or flee. At this time, much the same as in humans, adrenaline is released, which prepares the animal to most efficiently react to the situation. Should the potential threat continue, or if a deer is unsure as to the actual presence of a threat, it will usually stomp a forefoot in an effort to evoke a response from the unknown object. Other deer in the immediate area are then warned of the possibility of danger. The possibility exists in this instance that deer may even be able to communicate by the ground vibrations generated by these foot stomps. Repeated foot stomps readily occur, probably for the same purposes as already mentioned. If or when the threat is identified as danger, deer will erect their tails, providing another cue to other deer of the imminent danger. In addition to the tail-up response, deer will erect the rump and tail hairs providing an immediate cue to flee the area. Mature does will flee the area of danger waving their enormous white flags as they depart. This highly visible flag waving provides a ready reference for her young fawns as they attempt to follow her. whitetail bucks do not seem to be as conspicuous as they flee from an area of danger. Bucks, of course, do give the tail-up warning, but in some instances, immediately lower the tail after giving the cue.

As assorted deer of either sex meet throughout the year, visual communication cues readily display the intentions and social status of the animals. During most of the year, physical contact and especially eye contact is avoided. However, many encounters of deer during the early spring and summer are for the purpose of establishing dominance. When two bucks who have not established this strict order of dominance meet in the early spring/summer, visual cues immediately begin which will terminate in dominance being established. The conflict is usually initiated by one of the bucks initiating an aggressive posture toward the other. If this threatening posture, which is characterized by laying back the ears, erecting hair, and lowering the head, is answered by a similar posture from the threatened buck, a fight usually develops. During this fight both deer rise to their hind feet and maneuver for position. After a few slashes with their forelegs the fight is over.

These fights are not limited solely to bucks. Does also fight after the same routine of threat followed by a corresponding aggressive posture from the threatened doe. Most people think that only bucks fight and then only with their antlers, but both bucks and does have numerous bouts with each other throughout the year. This type of skirmish is usually settled quickly with most of the fighting being done with the hooves. Once dominance is established, sometimes after several of these battles, the deer then quickly recognize each other in relation to their respective position in the pecking order. Harmony can then exist between the members in the herd until an animal, because of age, condition, or other factors, necessitates a change.

With the arrival of fall comes the hardening of antlers, a drying of antler velvet and an increasing number of sparring matches. These sparring matches are little more than bouts of shoving, which assist in confirming rank in the social hierarchy. At the end of many of these bouts a clear winner is not apparent. The two combatants will leisurely stop sparring and begin to browse together as if nothing has occurred. This type of sparring is usually terminated by the arrival of the breeding season.

A similar yet unmistakably different battle takes place between bucks during the rut. The fight begins in much the same manner, but now both animals have hardened, polished antlers and deep seated motives, altering the fighting conditions and stakes for both deer. Bucks are fighting now for territory and dominance, but a different twist raises the stakes: the right to breed the doe(s) in this area. Normally the two bucks exchange threatening glances and at times a sidling, circling and stiff-legged walk, which is followed by a clashing and pushing done with the antlers until the larger or more aggressive buck gains the upper hand. Bucks seldom fight with members of their own group, but occasionally a younger buck will get ambitious or a transient buck will pass through. These battles can be brief or can last for several minutes, depending upon how evenly matched the two deer are. Occasionally the two bucks will lock antlers resulting in the death of both deer. These cases are the exception rather than the usual, since this situation largely requires mature bucks existing in herds with a tight buck/doe ratio. Competition for does is greater in this situation than in a typical deer herd in Mississippi.

Vocal

During the above-mentioned aggressive behavior between deer, and their visual communication efforts to mutually warn fellow members of potential danger, other cues are being used simultaneously to reinforce the visual cues. These signals are called vocal cues, some of which are anecdotal. Others are simply the sounds deer make to communicate with each other. These vocal cues may certainly be used solely to communicate a response which visual cues may fail to elicit.

Reports vary as to the exact number and purpose of the known deer vocalizations. Some eight stereotypic sounds made by whitetails have been recorded, and behavior unique to the specific call has been described. The foot stomp is certainly another tool (not vocal but auditory) which deer utilize to communicate.

Probably the most commonly heard vocalization by deer is the alert snort. It is almost always preceded by the foot stomp. Mature and yearling deer of both sexes uses the alert snort when imminent danger is detected. Many times deer will escape to the edge of what they consider the danger area and give repeated warning snorts to alert other deer. This vocalization is made with the mouth closed while the deer forcefully expels a single blast of air primarily through the nostrils. Deer in family groups more commonly give alert snorts; members of buck groups rarely give a repeated series of this call.

Deer make another vocalization during times of acute distress. It is commonly referred to as the distress call. This apparently uncontrollable outcry is typically made when a deer is severely distressed, such as during an attack by a predator or when the deer is critically wounded. During our efforts of capturing and tagging deer this response was typically made by deer caught in a net or while they were being handled. Deer of both sexes and all age classes seem to be capable of this vocalization. Much like the snort, other deer are instantaneously and acutely alerted when a deer makes this sound. Apparently, individual deer recognition is possible to members of the family group as this call is made.

Vocalization between does and fawns are also common. Both the fawns and their dam (mother) make vocalizations to find each other when separated. This is one of the sounds commercial deer call manufacturers attempt to emulate. The call can best be described as a low bleat. Bleating intensity by the fawn appears to be related to the response generated from the bleat. If maternal care is not acquired after repeated bleating, intensity greatly increases, and conversely, a mothered fawn rarely bleats. Still another vocalization utilized between doe and fawn is the nursing whine made by the fawn during feeding periods. Maternal bonds are certainly reinforced by this vocalization, but other purposes for the whine may exist as well.

Undeniably, the most talked about sound during recent years is the grunt of bucks made while trailing an estrous doe. Commercial calls imitating this sound, as well as testimonials to the effectiveness of the call, seem to dominate hunter conversation during the rut each year. A dominant buck is apparently challenged by the possibility of another buck "grunting" a doe in his territory and, in many cases, responds accordingly. Females have been detected emitting the grunt as well. The grunt is utilized by does during dominant-subordinate interactions as well as to call fawns and initiate nursing interactions.

Two final vocalizations made by deer of both sexes are the aggressive snort and the snort/wheeze. Deer emit these sounds to challenge other deer either hierarchically or territorially at any time during the year, but especially by males prior to serious fighting associated with the rut. The level of arousal that the deer experiences apparently determines which of these two sounds will be made. The aggressive snort is the more serious of the two.

Olfactory

Substances secreted from several glands on the body of deer enable deer to communicate by scent or olfactory cues. Breeding condition, individual deer recognition, territory marking and possibly even danger are all communicated within a deer herd by scent. The acute ability of deer to apparently recognize differing scents from a variety of sources gives us some clues to the ability of deer to communicate with this medium. There are theories based on relatively valid parametric indicators that deer may in effect be able to detect olfactory signals some one hundred times more acutely than humans.

When the tail and rump hairs are erected during times of imminent danger, deer have been observed to erect the hair surrounding the tarsal glands as well. Other deer in the immediate area are unmistakably alerted as this behavior is displayed. The possibility that scent cues are emitted, which reinforce the presence of danger, certainly is likely.

Tarsal gland activity noticeably fluctuates during the lifetime of a deer as well as during any one year of the life of the animal. In actuality, these darkened patches of thickened hair, located on the inside of each hind leg, are not glands at all since they possess no exterior duct. As a newborn fawn and up to at least several days old, the gland appears, based on human observance, to be virtually scentless. Urination on the tarsal glands by deer of both sexes and all age classes seems to have a major impact on the scent emitted from the gland. Deer engaged in this rub urination hold both hind legs together and rub the tarsal glands together as they urinate over them. During peak breeding activity, the musky odor is clearly perceptible by humans even some distance away from the deer. The tradition that the glands must be removed immediately after the kill, "else the meat will be tainted" continues in many deer camps.

Inter-digital glands located between the toes of deer probably aid deer in individual deer recognition. Upon close inspection when the toes are spread apart, the gland appears as an indentation out of which a yellowish, waxy, ammonia-like scent is emitted. Interestingly, some other ungulates use the foot stomp to release scent cues that warn conspecifics of danger; the possibility may exist with whitetails.

Pre-orbital or lachrymal gland secretions by deer aid in the lubrication and cleansing of the eye. However, bucks are readily observed rubbing this gland on twigs, limbs, and branches during scrape and rub activity. This gland located at the anterior corner of the eye appears as a darkened, hollowed slit. Excretions from this gland tend to smell similar to ammonia and are detectable to humans. The possible message conveyed to other deer as they confront this scent remains a mystery.

The forehead of the buck also has some glandular function. An oily substance produced by this gland is rubbed on twigs and overhanging branches during scrape activity. This is certainly an olfactory cue of some sort to other deer.

A gland of unknown function is the metatarsal. Like the tarsal, no external duct is detectable on this gland-like structure. Theories abound that the gland, when in contact with the ground, may even serve as a sensor that can detect minute vibrations (such as approaching steps) as the deer beds. No discernable substance produced by the gland can be identified.

Another gland, the Jacobs gland, is located on the roof of the mouth of the deer. As in many other hoofed animals, it is used by the buck to detect an estrous female. The buck will extend his neck and chin to a 45-degree angle and will curl back his upper lip and nostrils for some 5 seconds in an activity called "flehmen." Apparently this effort intensifies olfactory stimulus and enables the buck to monitor scent cues emitted by the doe in her urine prior to and during peak estrous.

We know enough about deer communication by olfactory cues to make us appreciate the vast amount that we have no idea about. Scent cues surely are more important to deer than we are able to identify. We do know that deer rely on visual, vocal, and olfactory cues to communicate, and that the senses used by deer to detect and monitor these behavioral signals are many times more sensitive to the stimuli produced than that of man.

Signposts

The mystique involving rubs and scrapes will undoubtedly continue for years to come. The following is what we "think" we know about rubs and scrapes. In no way will this information be the definitive guide concerning signpost communication in the deer herd.

A rub is simply a shrub, bush, or tree from which a portion of the bark has been scraped away in a vigorous rubbing action. The bark is removed by the buck repeatedly pushing and scraping his antlers and forehead against the resiliency of the rub object. Differing types of rubs are made for several purposes at varying times. Initially in the late summer-early fall, bucks begin rub activity to remove the dried velvet from the antlers. This process has been observed to take from only a few hours up to several days. Most of the rubs made during this time of the year are small and not very apparent as visual communication cues. These rubs have been appropriately called "low visibility rubs." As the breeding season approaches bucks begin to more vigorously debark the trees and shrubs on which the rubs are made. A greater amount of the bark is removed as the bucks "spar" with the resilient saplings and trees. We notice bucks regularly marking these high visibility rubs with secretions from the glandular area on the forehead. Other deer of both sexes take notice of the rubs but do not react in a detectable (to humans) manner.

As noticed by most hunters, there seems to be some correlation between the size tree that the buck rubs and antler size of the buck making the rub. Bucks also seem to select trees that have an aromatic quality. Pine, cedar, and apple are good examples of this apparent selection. Bark from these and other trees that deer prefer to rub are even odoriferous to humans.

A scrape may be defined as a circular depression from which all debris has been pawed, some 3-6 feet under an overhanging limb or branch. The limb is marked with saliva (mouthed) and by glandular secretions from the forehead of the buck as he rubs his forehead and antlers through the leaves on the limb. Bucks may or may not rub-urinate in the scrape as the initial scrape is established or as he freshens the scrape at some irregular interval during the breeding season. Scraping activity by dominant bucks markedly increases just prior to and during the breeding season or rut. Scraping intensity is observed by hunters to greatly fluctuate during some years due to a variety of unknown factors.

Researchers have found that only dominant bucks produce a significant number of identifiable scrapes. Most of these scrapes appear to be made in precisely the same spot that a scrape was made 1 year earlier. The scraping activity peaks some 2 weeks prior to the peak in breeding. Immediately after peak breeding, scraping activity declines.

Does visit these scrapes during various periods of their estrous cycle. Olfactory messages are left at the site of the scrape by the doe as she urinates into the scrape and then departs. As routine checks at the scrape are made by the buck, notice is made of the previous visit by the doe, which is then trailed until found. The buck will follow the trail of the doe, keeping his nose close to the ground and emitting the low guttural grunt, which has been previously discussed.

As we begin to think we understand the purpose of the scrape we then observe activity by deer which will not fit the pattern that we have established. To illustrate this, recently we have found that does make scrapes too, and to further complicate matters, they make these scrapes regardless of the breeding season.

Reproduced with permission from MSUcares.com. Copyright 2001 by the Mississippi State University Extension Service. All rights reserved.

Obama was scheduled to hold a "town hall meeting" with youth leaders at the campus, which lies in the Johannesburg township known for 1976 student protests against apartheid.

The town hall meeting caused small protests amongst students of the university who objected to Obama's visit at the time when they say the intake of South African universities is not representative of the country's racial mix.

"Our university can decide to give an honorary doctorate to a black man fromAmerica, when students within our university, black students within our university, are dropping out at an enormous rate because of the continued existence of the legacy of racism," said local resident Claire Ceruti.

Other students accused Obama of human rights violations and felt that the doctorate should not have been awarded.

"As a UJ [University of Johannesburg] student, we feel that Mr Obama is being honoured and we do not see see, we do not feel, that he deserves the doctorate," said student Nekhmeyah.

Protesters at the Soweto campus shouted "Go back Obama" and carried posters that showed Obama with a Hitler moustache.

On Friday (June 28) nearly 1,000 trade unionists, Muslim activists and South African Communist Party members marched to the U.S. embassy shouting slogans denouncing Obama's foreign policy as "arrogant and oppressive".

South African critics of Obama have focused in particular on his support for U.S. drone strikes overseas, which they say have killed hundreds of innocent civilians, and his failure to fulfil a pledge to close the U.S. military detention centre at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

Mpelembe Adminadmin@mpelembe.netsouth-african-students-protest-obama-honourary-doctorate5https://sites.google.com/feeds/content/mpelembe.net/education/47039873765828037972013-06-18T16:04:45.053Z2013-06-18T16:05:33.933Z2013-06-18T16:05:33.933ZSyrian Students Sit Exams At Lebanon Refugee School

Syrian refugees living in the Lebanese city of Tripoli sit exams in order to be able to continue with their higher education in Lebanon and abroad. The school was set up at the beginning of the academic year to cater for the growing number of refugees in the country.

TRIPOLI, LEBANON (REUTERS) - June can be a stressful time for teenagers, with many gearing up to sit exams. But at a Lebanese school in Tripoli, students have had a lot to deal with in recent months.

The pupils taking their exams here are refugees from Syria, who were uprooted from their homes and forced to abandon their education.

Due to the civil war in their country, many of the students had to flee their hometown in search for better living conditions in Lebanon, leaving most of their belongings at home, including their education documents.

Not being able to provide previous records of school certificates makes it difficult for students to apply for the Lebanese official exams which open the doors to higher education levels.

But being well aware of their situation, Al-Iman school in Tripoli opened their doors to those students, offering them the chance to complete their exams under academic supervision.

Member the committee supervising the education of Syrian refugees in the school,Mohammed Ghassan al-Hajj, explained the school's initiative.

"Because a big number of students weren't able to bring the required documents due to the war and destruction that are taking place in most of the Syrian villages, we took the responsibility of doing the exams in our schools by taking measures which are more accurate than the official exams that the Ministry of education runs, and this is due to the significance of this issue," explained al-Hajj.

Al-Hajj said the school will work together with the Syrian national coalition to insure that universities accept the student's certificates following the completion of their exams.

"With regard to the certificates that will be presented the national coalition, they will seek to accept certificates that are approved by our schools for Syrian students in all the Arab countries and other countries, with god's will. This is based on the agreement that was put forward by the national coalition at the beginning of the academic year and which was agreed in a conference in Istanbul," added al-Hajj.

Last year, Al-Iman schools opened their doors to Syrian refugee children, allowing them to continue their studies following the Syrian curriculum and taught by Syrian teachers who have been displaced by the unrest.

The programme was provided by 'Al-Iman' schools and institutes, led by the Islamic Education Association. The association has seven schools and one institute for girls across Tripoli, Akkar and al-Dunnieh, in northern Lebanon.

Taking on this initiative, hundreds of Syrian students completed their exams at the school in June.

They completed exams in all subjects to achieve certificates of Grade 9, which allows them to proceed to secondary education, and Baccalaureate (Grade 12) which makes them proceed to university level.

The exams were held in four different schools and on four consecutive days.

"We followed a very important method, we asked the committees to put the questions for every subject, we brought people from all our branches, we have seven branches for the education of Syrian refugees, in Akkar, Sir and Tripoli. We put the teachers together to prepare the exams. The exams are being prepared confidentially every day, and they are printed only one day before the exams, so they are not being written in advance," said Maasrani.

One Syrian student Karim Sebai, stressed the significance of education support for Syrian students, saying that it is needed to help them build a better future for their country.

"We weren't able to stay inside Syria to follow up with the Syrian revolution, so we want to follow it up from abroad, we want to study and complete our education in order to go back to our country which will be waiting for us and in need of reconstruction, staff and educated people. So we need someone to take care of us, we just want to secure the completion of our university level, and insure that our certificates get accepted, because we worked hard to get them," said Syrian baccalaureate student Sebai.

Mpelembe Adminadmin@mpelembe.netsyrian-students-sit-exams-at-lebanon-refugee-school2https://sites.google.com/feeds/content/mpelembe.net/education/92169116323585578362013-06-17T17:34:55.340Z2013-06-17T17:35:38.579Z2013-06-17T17:35:38.578ZObama And Cameron Visit An Integrated School In Enniskillen

Wearing shirts and ties the two leaders met schoolchildren and teachers, and one pupil read Obama a poem which prompted a cheer from both men.

Obama, who often visits schools, did most of the talking during the extended photo op, chatting easily with the children, ages 10 and 11, who were learning about the G8 nations.

In the school playground Obama and Cameron then helped children who were painting a mural.

Obama asked the children if they trusted him to help them paint and asked Cameron if he could handle the task.

The U.S. president also asked the children if the weather was "pretty typical weather. Huh we finally got some sun," he said.

When they had finished the children gave both men three cheers.

Obama faces a tougher test later when he meets the Russian president in what could be a frosty G8 meeting after the Kremlin chief clashed with the West over plans to arm Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad.

At their first private face-to-face meeting in a year, Obama will try to convince Putin to bring Assad to the negotiating table but the Russian leader has shown little sign of compromise.

On the summit's eve, Putin described Assad's foes as cannibals who ate their enemy's intestines in front of media cameras

Mpelembe Adminadmin@mpelembe.netobama-and-cameron-visit-an-integrated-school-in-enniskillen2https://sites.google.com/feeds/content/mpelembe.net/education/40575249932255059282013-06-04T11:46:24.786Z2013-06-04T11:47:03.961Z2013-06-04T11:47:03.961ZEleven-Year-Old Boy Gains Place At Hebron University

Eleven-year-old who has been dubbed a 'genius' will start a mathematics degree at Hebron university in the autumn. Yahya Abu Juwaid will be the youngest Palestinian at the university.

DURA, WEST BANK (JUNE 2, 2013) (REUTERS) - At just eleven-years-old, Yahya Abu Jwaid, is about to find himself studying with students a decade older, as he becomes the youngest scholar to enter Hebron University.

Yahya has been offered a scholarship at the university for his ability in mathematics, for which he has been dubbed a 'genius'.

At the age of eight, Yahya's mother Basma Omar discovered his enjoyment of mathematics.

"Yahya has been excellent at Maths since he was young. I knew that he was unique ever since he was small, he was not like other students. Since March, he started to invent rules (equations) and new things that he does not know, some are real rules (equations) and others he invented," mathematics teacher, Basma Omartold Reuters Television.

"I knew he was a genius when one day I asked a bright student to bring me a chart for calculations and he was able to provide me with the equation that could give me infinite charts," Omar added.

Yahya will stay at school during the day for the time being, and study in the evening at university. His mother said that it is important for his social development to spend time with children his own age.

Once she realised his capabilities his mother was determined that Yahya should study at university.

Since March, Yahya has been taking IQ and mathematics exams set by university professors. One of his professor's, Nabil Jundi said he was stunned by his talent.

"We will start with him at university in September. We will teach him calculus, which is the basis of mathematics in university and we will evaluate him according to his performance, but we hope that he can do it."

Jundi said he expects Yahya to become one of the most important Palestinian mathematics scholars.

Yahya has just finished his sixth grade at Al-Majd primary public school in the West Bank town of Dura, but will continue his school grades alongside with his university studies.

"Yahya is one of the unique students, he is very capable of gathering information and remembering numbers. He was unique in the IQ test that made him a unique student," Tareq Amr, Head of Mathematics Department at Hebron University, told Reuters Television.

Studying alongside students over twice his age, Yahya manages to hold his ground. He says university doesn't make him nervous, but it is different from his primary school.

"I am happy to be a university student. When I was at school, my friends were same age as I am. Today my colleagues are 20 years older than I am," Yahya said.

By the age of eighteen, Yahya, the only brother for five girls, will earn his high school certificate alongside a Bachelor degree in Mathematics.

Mpelembe Adminadmin@mpelembe.neteleven-year-old-boy-gains-place-at-hebron-university2https://sites.google.com/feeds/content/mpelembe.net/education/46250550876753053262013-05-21T15:23:33.112Z2013-05-21T15:27:00.532Z2013-05-21T15:27:00.532ZKenyan Teens Build E-Learning Website For High School Students

E-Masomo is Kenya's first education resource website made for high schoolstudents by high school students. Teenagers, Brian Kirotich and Martin Sieledesigned the platform, which provides students with learning materials; from past examination papers and interactive videos, to a review of the entire curriculum.

NAIROBI, KENYA (REUTERS) - While most Kenyan teenagers savoured the break from school over the 2012 December holidays, 17-year-old Brian Kirotich and 18-year-old Martin Sieleused the down-time to create an interactive website that put their entire curriculum on the internet.

The two students, in their final year of high school built an application called E-Masomo - Swahili for E-learning, with no formal IT training and a budget of 142 US dollars, which they sourced from friends and allowance savings.

E-Masomo provides free access to sample papers for Kenya's final high schoolassessment known as KCSE, video tutorials, educational debates and interactive forums.

"We realized that there isn't anything on the net for high school students in Kenyabasically if you want to read using a computer or you want to read online in Kenyaand you're a high school student it was practically impossible. There was nothing you could find tailored for the Kenyan education system and it's much fun and easier to study with a computer and know... it seems more interactive than just looking at a teacher... you know it's much easier., said Siele.

E-Masomo gets an average of 400 hits every week.

The application was entered for a local science fair and has made it all the way to the regional finals as the top entry. However, they did have a hard time convincing judges that two teenagers could develop such a website.

Kirotich and Siele's interest in computers started at an early age. Kirotich was inspired by hackers in movies, while Kirotich's inquisitive nature drove him to investigate every bit and function of his dad's computers.

"It was TV... I used to watch some series and then you just see some gut on a computer, he does something that looks so cool. I remember this movie, Italian Job, that hacker guy, when he hacked the traffic lights thing, I just... man computers are so cool. I have to do this someday," said Siele.

"I blew up a computer. Our two computers, one was spoilt and as I was using one, it got messed up so I figured out probably the power supply was having a little heat so I removed the power supply in the old computer and tried fixing it in the new computer," said Kirotich.

The two have to balance the E-Masomo project with their schoolwork. Their performance at the end of the year will largely determine whether they make it to university. The teens spend at least two days every week maintaining and developing the website.

In 2009, the schools syllabus managing body - Kenya Institute of Education (KIE) launched the first phase of a curriculum digitization project that will enable both public secondary and primary schools to start offering e-learning.

But there are tough challenges ahead: limited internet access in schools and the re-training of teachers who need to keep up with the constantly developing trends in ICT.

David Kariuki, the Principal at Alliance Boys High, where Kirotich and Siele go to school says students are ready for ICT learning.

"I think our students are easily adapting to I.T because of the kind of exposure that we are giving them nowadays unlike us from the past and this can be very well be seen when we look at, for example when you have a new phone. You look at the phone, our children are easily manipulate... they are able to access and even be able to function, have more function than we have, than we know," Kariuki said.

There have been several private and government initiatives to computerise public schools since 2002 especially in remote areas where there are no libraries. Projects like this one in western Kenya gave primary school children hand-held computers or e-slates, which stored textbooks.

But its the declaration by Kenya's newly elected president, Uhuru Kenyatta that all 800,000 students entering the first grade in public primary schools from 2014 onwards will receive a free solar powered laptop, that has ICT learning advocates excited.

"We made a promise to our children and we will keep it. Because we believe that early exposure to technology will inspire future innovation and be a catalyst for growth and prosperity," Kenyatta said in his inauguration speech on April 9.

Analysts say the political goodwill and machinery of the government will play a big role in promoting ICT based education but implementation must be treated carefully.

"My take, in the first way you can execute it to make it successful is that if you let the kids just play with them, just give them these tools and tell them, even take it as a toy, tell them here is a laptop, you guys go figure out after an hour come and present to use what you have figured out, whoever has figured out the most gets a prize or something. You will be surpassed how far those kids learn about technology on their own without any restrictions, without any inhibitions and be free to experiment," said Andrew Mugoya, technical director of Asilia, an applications development company.

Officials say Kenya's Ministry of Education plans to spend 30 million US dollars to roll out the ICT learning initiative by providing computers for public schools.

ICT ministry officials say the government needs a total of 1.8 billion US dollars to fund its free laptops for schools initiative for the next five years.

Obama noted the Atlanta school's mission to cultivate young men and told graduates they are graduating in a time of opportunity.

"You're graduating into an improving job market, you're living into a time when advances in tele-technology and communication put the world at your fingertips. Your generation is uniquely poised for success unlike any generation of African-Americans that came before," Obama said.

Mpelembe Adminadmin@mpelembe.netobama-delivers-commencement-speech-at-morehouse-college2https://sites.google.com/feeds/content/mpelembe.net/education/67036490870472470912013-05-13T21:24:13.452Z2013-05-13T21:25:22.035Z2013-05-13T21:25:22.035ZTeachers Protest In Greece As Government Threatens Arrests If They Strike

Thousands of high school teachers protest after the Greek government threatens them with arrest if they carry out a planned strike in the middle of final exams.

ATHENS, GREECE (MAY 13, 2013) (REUTERS) - Thousands of Greek public high school teachers and their supporters staged a protest rally in Athens on Monday (May 13) after the government said the teachers face arrest if they proceed with a planned strike this week.

The high school teachers are planning to strike during university entrance exams on Friday (May 17), which would disrupt and delay the process for students. The government plans to invoke emergency legislation that forces strikers to return to work or face arrest if they disobey the order.

The move has angered teachers, unions and other protest groups.

"It is illegal and unconstitutional. Based on the constitution, since 1975 it is every workers personal right to strike, throughout the entire modern world," said high school teacher Kaity Thomai.

During the demonstration some of the teachers were dressed as soldiers and had taped their mouths shut, implying that with the mobilisation order the government was acting as a military dictatorship. They also paraded a mock model of a military tank made of styrofoam which they parked in front of the parliament building.

The teachers are protesting plans by the government to extend their working hours by an extra two hours a week, and to transfer 4,000 teachers around Greece in order to plug staffing holes. The teachers say they already spend several hours of overtime at work, and transfers to other parts of the country will split families.

The emergency legislation has already been used twice by the 11-month old government, public transport workers and ferry boat crews were also given the same orders during their attempted walkouts.

The law can be used if a strike is considered a threat to the national public interest. Government officials said it was the students' right to sit their exams without disruption.

The legislation is rarely utilised but the administration has said it will adopt a zero tolerance attitude towards disruptive strikes as it tackles to improve the dire economic situation through spending cuts and other austerity measures.

Mpelembe Adminadmin@mpelembe.netteachers-protest-in-greece-as-government-threatens-arrests-if-they-strike2https://sites.google.com/feeds/content/mpelembe.net/education/75403970391362421742013-05-13T16:50:35.932Z2013-05-13T16:51:28.556Z2013-05-13T16:51:28.556ZAspirant Of India’s Coveted Civil Services Commits Suicide After Result Goof Up

Twenty four year old V. Y. Manjunath on Monday (May 13) hung himself from a tree after his repeated attempts to contact the Union Public Service Commission(UPSC) went unattended after the declared results on May 03 showed his registration number with the name of another candidate.

According to the deceased's family, Manjunath contacted the UPSC through phone calls, email and fax which went unanswered, following which he got depressed and took the extreme step.

Bereaved father of the aspirant who is a government clerk held the UPSC responsible for his son's death and is ready to take the matter to court.

Nigerian entrepreneur, Gossy Ukanwoke launched Beni American University, an online university specifically for African students. Nicknamed Nigeria's Mark Zuckerberg and at only 24, Ukanwoke is the founder of Students Circle Network, an academic social network for students, teachers and institutions that brings over 10,000 free academic resources from over 200 universities globally, and shares it free for students and teachers.

Ukanwoke says BAU is aimed at African students, and particularly those in Nigeriawho would have otherwise not have access to tertiary education, mainly due to a limited number of facilities available.

BAU was established in March 2012, after Ukanwoke's successful launch of theStudents Circle Network, an educational social network website for students, teachers and institutions, that provides over 10,000 free academic resources online, from over 200 universities globally, and shares it free for students and teachers.

After extensive research, Ukanwoke says he discovered that of the 1.5 million students who graduate from secondary school, only 350,000 on average gain entry into local universities annually.

"We realised that there was just a couple of issues in the educational sector inAfrica. We have universities but they are not enough in comparison to the youth population. We have universities but the infrastructure is a challenge and then the cost of setting up something new was also a challenge. We were also looking at something that we could easily accommodate as many people as possible without the constraint of location or space or resources, so online was the best alternative for us. With an online university, you can take in as many students as possible, you can get professors from across the world. We have professors who are in the US, we have professors in Malawi, we have professors in England," he said.

BAU currently offer diplomas and degree courses in Business Management andManagement Information Systems. Ukanwoke added that he plans to expand the course structure depending on the demand.

The academic team is made up of over 30 tutors.

Students pay 750 US dollars per semester but Ukanwoke says he hopes to reduce the fee as the number of undergraduates grows.

The online university currently has 50 students from Nigeria and about 110 students from across Africa.

Due to his busy schedule, Ebegore says he decided to join BAU a few months ago, because of the flexibility the institution offers.

"I actually do my school work at my leisure time not at my work time, it allows me to meet different people from around the world, I get to interact with students and lecturers, some seasoned lecturers from around the world, professors and all that. It's good because I interact, I learn, I do everything and I don't leave my house which makes it superb."

However, critics say there are numerous obstacles to this initiative.

According to Nigeria's Infrastructure Regulatory Commission, 60 percent of Nigerians have no access to electricity, and the power supply is erratic.

2009 World Bank data indicate only 28 percent of Nigerian have internet access.

Duro Ajeyalemi, a professor of Science and Technology of Education at theUniversity of Lagos says poverty and poor infrastructure in the country need to be addressed first before e-learning can become a reality in the country.

"We do not have the resources enough to cope and many of our... because we have problems with infrastructure, electricity for example is not available in most places so we will need to have constant supply of electricity, we will need to have the computers and the technology for you to be able to benefit maximally," he said.

In an attempt to tackle unemployment, BAU has partnered with several universities in the United States and Europe, to provide education on private enterprise to students, to navle them to be ready for the job market by the time they graduate.

"There is a high level of unemployment across the world and one of the things that can actually deal with unemployment is entrepreneurship and empowerment, so what we are doing is even if you are studying Business Management in our university, you will still take our entrepreneurship program, even if you are studying medicine in our university, you will still take our entrepreneurship program so that you can learn how as a doctor or as an engineer or as a Home Economics graduate how you can actually start a business and become an employer of labour instead of being someone who is seeking for employment," he said.

Ukanwoke says he plans to expand BAU by building physical hybrid schools inNigeria.

Mpelembe Adminadmin@mpelembe.netnigerian-entrepreneur-introduces-countrys-first-online-university2https://sites.google.com/feeds/content/mpelembe.net/education/10995685300686228702013-04-22T21:26:14.962Z2013-04-22T21:27:01.114Z2013-04-22T21:27:01.114ZJohn Galliano Lands A Teaching Job At A New York Fashion School

The British designer, who was fired by Dior in 2011 after he was caught on camera making anti-Semitic remarks in a Paris cafe, will teach a course titled "Show Me Emotion".

In a statement Parsons described the class as a "dynamic and intimate opportunity for our students to learn from an immensely talented designer."

A French court handed out a 6,000-euro ($8,000) suspended fine to Galliano in 2011 after he was found guilty of anti-Semitic behavior. Galliano said an addiction to drugs and drink had left him out of control.

Parsons' believes Galliano "has demonstrated a serious intent to make amends for his past actions, and as part of this workshop, Parsons students will have the opportunity to engage in a frank conversation with Mr. Galliano about the challenges and complications of leading a design house in the 21st century."

Mpelembe Adminadmin@mpelembe.netjohn-galliano-lands-a-teaching-job-at-a-new-york-fashion-school2https://sites.google.com/feeds/content/mpelembe.net/education/12893158151963283802013-04-15T17:53:05.035Z2013-04-15T17:53:05.044Z2013-04-15T17:53:05.027ZControversy After BBC Reporter Poses As PhD Student To Make Film In North Korea

British university accuses BBC of putting students at risk after a reporter poses as a PhD student to make undercover documentary in North Korea.

NORTH KOREA (BBC PANORAMA) - A leading British university criticised the BBC on Sunday for arranging an academic trip to North Korea to make an undercover documentary, saying it had put students who were unaware of the plans in danger.

The London School of Economics (LSE) said three BBC journalists - including the respected reporter John Sweeney - joined a student society trip at the end of March, posing as tourists to make a film about the secretive state.

The university said the students had been told "a journalist" would accompany them, but it had not been made clear the BBC's aim was to use the visit to record an undercover film for "Panorama", a current affairs programme.

Alex Peters-Day, general secretary of the LSE's student union, said the students were only told of the BBC's intentions to make an undercover film at a very late stage, with one saying she was only informed when they were on the plane to North Korea.

She said the BBC had used the students as "human shields".

The university said Sweeney, who graduated from the LSE in 1980, had posed as a history PhD student at the university to gain entry to the country even though he currently had no connections with the institution.

It said the LSE's chairman had asked the BBC to pull the documentary, which is due to be shown on Monday, but the broadcaster's director-general had refused.

Sweeney admitted he had lied to the North Korean government agency that helped organise the visit, but defended the BBC's actions.

Ceri Thomas, the Head of BBC News Programmes, said the students had been told twice about the possible dangers of having a journalist on the trip, but were not informed about the broadcaster's plans to make an undercover film because it would have put them in a worse position had the BBC team been found out.

Panorama's website said Sweeney had spent eight days undercover "inside the most rigidly-controlled nation on Earth".

The LSE said aspects of North Korea were legitimate objects of study in several academic disciplines but said the BBC may have seriously damaged the university's reputation, and jeopardised future visits to North Korea and other countries.

Yousufzai, 15, has become an international figure as a symbol of resistance toTaliban efforts to deny women's rights and is even among nominees for this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

Speaking at the first day of the Women in the World Summit, Jolie recounted the horrific circumstances of Yousufzai's attack.

"They shot her at point-blank range in the head-and made her stronger," Jolie said.

"In a brutal attempt to silence her voice, it grew louder and she more resolute, calling on the entire world, not just Pakistan to ensure the right for every girl and boy for an education," Jolie added.

Malala said she will use the fund to help with the education of girls in Pakistan.

Last month, Yousufzai returned to school on Tuesday in Britain where she has been treated for her injuries.

Yousufzai was brought to Britain for specialist treatment after she was shot in the head at point-blank range by Taliban gunmen last October.

She left hospital in February after she made a good recovery from surgery during which doctors mended parts of her skull with a titanium plate and inserted a cochlear implant to help restore hearing on her left side.

Yousufzai will study a full curriculum at the school, where annual fees are 10,000 pounds ($15,100), before selecting subjects for GCSE exams, which are generally taken at age 16.

Gaza's Hamas bars men from teaching at girls' schools in the territory and mandates separate classes for boys and girls from the age of nine.

KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA (APRIL 2, 2013) (REUTERS) - New rules from the Education Ministry of the IslamistHamas movement ruling the Gaza Stripwill bar men from teaching at girls' schools and mandate separate classes for boys and girls from the age of nine.

The law, published on Monday (April 1), would go into effect next school year and applies throughout the coastal enclave, including in private, Christian-run and United Nations schools.

"Palestinian educators praised this decision from the beginning and we have had many workshops, lecturers and meetings with educational experts and they all recommended this system which separates boys and girls from the age of nine (at schools). And the culture of Palestinian society demanded this too," said Waleed Mezher, the Education Ministry's legal adviser.

Hamas has administered Gaza since fighting a brief civil war with its Palestinian rivals in the secularFatah party in 2007, a year after it won a surprise majority in Palestinian parliamentary polls.

The political split paralysed the legislature and mostly prevented the passing of new laws in Gaza and the West Bank.

But Hamas parliamentarians in Gaza acted alone to approve the new education law, and the movement's critics have for years accused it of trying to build a separate state in Gaza.

Critics of the new measures say the Islamist movement is trying to force its ideology on society, but proponents say they merely want to codify conservative Palestinian values into law.

A Gaza activist for women's rights said that the new law was part of a Hamas project to impose its values on Gaza residents.

"This means a continuous separation between the two genders on the basis of preventing the mixing and on the basis of Islamising the community, as the minister of education said and as the rulers who introduced this rule said," said Zeinab al-Ghoneimi.

Private and Christian schools, where classes are mixed until high school, would be the most affected by the decision. Gaza's government-run schools were already mostly gender-segregated.

The GazaEducation Ministry said the private schools had been invited to discuss the legislation before it was enacted but failed to do so.

Hamas leaders have repeatedly denied accusations by human rights groups they are trying to impose Islamic laws on Gaza.

Rights activists have criticised moves by Hamas's government in recent years to impose Islamic dress on female lawyers and school girls, ban men from working as hairdressers for women and interrogate couples walking in Gaza's streets.

Mpelembe Adminadmin@mpelembe.nethamas-law-promotes-gender-segregation-in-gaza-schools2https://sites.google.com/feeds/content/mpelembe.net/education/13280301630148440182013-03-20T02:13:07.393Z2013-03-20T02:13:47.824Z2013-03-20T02:13:47.824ZPakistani Schoolgirl Begins New School In The UK

R Reports - It's a day Malala Yousufzai has been waiting for. Five months after the Pakistani teenager and advocate for girls education, was shot in the head by the Taliban - she is back in school - only this time in England, not far from the hospital where she had surgery to rebuild her skull.

Pakistani Schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai:

"I think it's the happiest moment that I am going back to my school. And today, I would have my books, my bag and I would learn, talk to my friends, I will talk to my teacher and I think there is no important day than this day."

Her harrowing ordeal has only made her more determined to prevent others from the same fate.

Pakistani Schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai:

"I want to learn about politics, about social rights and about the law. I want to learn how to bring change in this world and how should I work for the happiness and education of girls.

Ruth Weeks, Headmistress Of Edgbaston High School for girls gave the 15-year-old a tour of the campus.

RUTH WEEKS, HEADMISTRESS OF EDGBASTON HIGH SCHOOL:

"We have very nice girls but they are very normal girls. And I think Malala needs that stability. She herself wants to be a normal teenage girl, and to have the support of other girls around her. Talking to her, I think that's something that she has very much missed during her time in hospital -- the contact with her peer group.

It's a sentiment Malala agrees with.

Pakistani Schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai:

"Yes I would make new friends and I will also talk to my old friends on phone and yes, I will make new friends. I am very happy because girls here are very nice."

Malala is expected to take a full courseload at the school where annual tuition is roughly $15,000. Taliban members have threatened that if Malala returns toPakistan, they will kill her.

Mpelembe Adminadmin@mpelembe.netpakistani-school-girl-begins-new-school-in-the-uk2https://sites.google.com/feeds/content/mpelembe.net/education/4154854624021550022013-03-20T02:05:57.564Z2013-03-20T02:06:55.349Z2013-03-20T02:06:55.349ZEnrollment for Stanford University online courses now open

Venture Lab, a platform used by Stanford University to offer online courses for free will be offering many more exciting Stanford courses in April and have opened enrollment